THUN, SWITZERLAND
Headed to Thun today.
The stay last night was at the Hotel Rischli. I really enjoyed it. The desk clerk, Yvonne, was very nice. She had presented me with a complimentary transportation card that I could use for the aerial tram. But I did not use it yesterday.
But first – goats. Just outside the dining patio was an enclosure of the cutest goats. They also had an enclosure of rabbits too. It made the stay more enjoyable.
Yesterday I had gone by the gondola on my descent to the hotel. When Yvonne offered the transportation card I did not feel like pedaling the 4.5 km back up the mountain. But with a great night’s sleep, I looked at it differently, one from a fresh mind. And body.
The ride over to Thul was supposed to be a short one and why should I be in a hurry. I decided I would bike back up to the gondola. Slow down. Enjoy the day.
I had no clue where I was in Switzerland in relationship to other landmarks but in looking at the advertisements of the region I saw they also advertised a cog railway. I realized that I took that train with [Friend] three years ago and it dawned on me that at the summit we saw a gondola come up the mountain.
I rode to the gondola, presented my comp pass, and saved 38 CHF (which was about $40). The staff at the gondola put my bike in the engine room while I rode up to the summit.
It was cool being back there. This time I could look down and see the cog railway engine sputtering away bringing back pleasant memories of this trip three years earlier.
On the ride back down on the gondola, the “conductor” made sure to point out where there were mountain goats. He asked me if we have them in the U.S. and I told him Colorado (of course other states do too).
It was a quick descent back to Söreneberg and a stop at the hotel. My luggage hadn’t been picked up so I decided I would carry an extra set of clothes just in case I got to Thun before my luggage. I couldn’t imagine I would with the trip being so short and now it was after 11:00 a.m. and I hadn’t left Söreneberg.
But first, there was time for a ride on their Alpine slide. This one was cool because the ski lift dragged the rider and sled to the top on an enclosed course. The ones I have been on all used a ski lift to carry the passenger and sleds to the top of the mountain for the slide down. But this was a fully-enclosed course in which the rider rode up the mountain (towed by a cable) before sliding back down.
Less than one km out of town, I came to a sign which showed directions to Thun (actually Schangnau). Why I didn’t capture that picture, I don’t know. I just wasn’t thinking I might want to display it in a blog. It was 34 km in one direction and 21 km in the other.
It would be an additional 13 km to go the long way, which is, of course, what I opted for. But the shorter way looked to climb a mountain then descend the rest of the way. Apparently the main route went around the mountain and the short way went over it. Maybe I messed up taking the long way.
There was some pretty scenery today. But nothing iconic like I saw this morning or at Lake Lucerne though.
Mainly, it was just a nice ride through the Swiss countryside. With beautiful weather.
Oh, there was one climb. Up to the Schallenberg. It was pretty but I wasn’t in the high mountains.
Schallenberg would have been the high point of today’s ride if I hadn’t gone back up the mountain and started at the tram in Söreneberg.
The ride over the pass was great and then I was treated to some back county farm roads. From here it was all downhill or flat.
When I saw the John Deere tractor I thought of my dad. He loved his Deeres.
Getting near Thun the bike route stayed high while I could see the main road descending. That meant one thing: There would be a fast run down to Thun when it came. But when it came it was more technical (lots of turns) than straight so I couldn’t hit high speeds. But it was fun.
When I got into Thun I went looking for the River Aare as a landmark. I found the river which had a swimming area built into it. It looked like a swimming pool but it wasn’t. It was a fast moving river. But this side of the river wasn’t nearly as fast as the other side or as fast as it travels through Bern.
My hotel, Hotel am Schloss, was situated just below a castle. The room was small, the window did not open enough for air (no A/C) and it was hot. And my luggage did not arrive until 5:45 p.m.
I decided I would walk to the river. I hadn’t brought shoes or flip flops. My walk to the river ended up burning the bottoms of my feet on the scorching asphalt.
I swam in the River Aare three years ago in Bern. I knew I had to do it again. There were some bridge jumpers although the bridge wasn’t nearly as high as in Bern. Rather than be a bridge jumper, I followed a couple as they found some steps down to the river.
The River Aare in Thun is split by an island. The swimming channel was clearly slower than the other side. But one only needed to jump in and float and be carried away. Pretty fun!
Dinner tonight was at McDonalds – 8,90 instead of 35 or 40 CHF for a real meal. My only issue was I went for WiFi and a little A/C. But it seems WiFi is available only if you have a code that will be texted to you – if you have WiFi to receive the text. Sigh.
The hotel was AM Schloss. It had no A/C and only a small window over a busy street. It was pretty miserable sleeping.